Comments
clrmoney
2/7/2017 12:05:21 PM
User Rank Platinum
No More Spying
I think that Vizio has a point because they do have camera on the flat screen LCD TV that I really don't care for. and they also spy on other things like our phones, computers etc.
Re: No More Spying
@clrmoney - those little cameras unnerve me too. Even if they are useful for a specific reason. I find them especially unnerving on my kids tablets. Fortunately, the article didn't say there was any nefarious use of the cameras on the TVs. I just keep stickers over all of them in our house and take the stickers off when we actually need the camera. Gives each device it's own flare too!
dmendyk
2/7/2017 2:32:48 PM
User Rank Platinum
Got our back
It's good to know that the state of New Jersey played a role in bringing Vizio to justice.
Ariella
2/7/2017 3:25:14 PM
User Rank Author
Re: Got our back
@mendyK you live in the Garden State?
dmendyk
2/7/2017 3:35:32 PM
User Rank Platinum
Re: Got our back
Yes I do, although the state nickname is a little ... misleading.
Ariella
2/7/2017 3:39:41 PM
User Rank Author
Re: Got our back
@mendyk Yes, perhaps it should be called the Shopping Mall state. I lived there for 7 years myself.
Adi
2/8/2017 5:57:16 AM
User Rank Author
Re: Got our back
Your tax dollars at work, dmendyk. Many thanks, from all of us.
srufolo1
2/7/2017 5:11:21 PM
User Rank Platinum
Spying Not So Smart on TVs
This is a lesson Vizio learned the hard way about collection viewers' information without their consent. I would imagine, in the near future, there will be a way to collect the same kind of info that, say, Netflix, Facebook, Google and others do, on TVs and still stay on the right side of the law. Plus, as far as New Jersey, there are such beautiful places there that you think you are in a fairytale, mostly in Northern New Jersey.
Re: Spying Not So Smart on TVs
@srufolo1 - I'm sure TV manufacturers will come up with a way to legally collect the informaiton. And it will probably be just as sly as the way Facbeook gets it. Have some kind of disclaimer or waiver you sign right when you turn the TV on the first time, to "setup" your features, and you will unintentionally sign away the rights to what you watch. I think it's so funny that my brother refuses to use Facebook because one of the initial waivers you sign asks for permission to access informaiton in your phone - but he uses other apps that ask the exact same permission.
srufolo1
2/8/2017 2:15:02 PM
User Rank Platinum
Re: Spying Not So Smart on TVs
@elizabethv Of course they will have to punish the little guy, like Vizio, first for what the big guys have been doing all along. I don't ever remember Facebook asking my permission for anything! Yet, I get all kinds of ads. It's scary because sometimes it's like they know I was on a particular site, for example, searching for appliances. Suddenly, that very refrigerator from Sears pops up on my site. So weird ... and unnerving. Sometimes it seems like I am entrusting Mark Zuckerberg with my whole life.
vnewman
2/9/2017 1:36:18 PM
User Rank Platinum
Re: Spying Not So Smart on TVs
Wow! How embarrasing for them! I just checked the privacy statement on Vizio's website and it looks like the last time it was updated was December 10, 2016 - I wonder what it said before this. It appears they share a great deal of information with third-parties. If you don't connect your TV to the internet, then I guess you don't have to worry about it. But, by default, if you do,the feature is automatically turned on.
mhhf1ve
2/9/2017 2:19:29 PM
User Rank Platinum
Re: Spying Not So Smart on TVs
Did anyone see how much $$ Vizio might have gained from the sale of the data they collected? If it was more than the court-ordered fine, then that's not really a disincentive for any other company to try this kind of sneaky data collection.
I assume Vizio didn't actually turn a profit from this, and the damage to its reputation might hurt its bottom line, too.
srufolo1
2/10/2017 12:37:10 PM
User Rank Platinum
Re: Spying Not So Smart on TVs
@mhhf1ve Both good points. It would not even be a fine if they made more from the sale of people's data. And, I agree, who could trust a company that would deploy such dishonest tactics. It's sure to damage both Vizio's reputation, and its bottom line.
mhhf1ve
2/10/2017 1:23:11 PM
User Rank Platinum
Re: Spying Not So Smart on TVs
I may have to check out the court records to see if Vizio was forced to disclose how much it made from selling the private data it collected.... I haven't seen anyone report on that key detail yet..?
Ariella
2/13/2017 1:33:27 PM
User Rank Author
Re: Spying Not So Smart on TVs
@mhhf1ve I looked at a few articles that reported on Vizio's fines, but none identify exactly how much it made from the sale of this illegally obtined data. It's possible that the sales were bundled with other data or services, which would make it difficult to pin an exact dollar value on it. Based on the fines, one would think, it wouldn't have topped $2 million or so in its own right.
vnewman
2/13/2017 12:41:44 PM
User Rank Platinum
Re: Spying Not So Smart on TVs
They've been doing it for years so you would think they've raked in more than the fine amount.
One interesting item of note is the Chinese powerhouse firm LeEco was slated to buy Vizio for 2 Billion. The deal hasn't been put to bed yet however, so it will be interesting to see if they back out because of this debacle!
elizabethv
2/27/2017 7:09:19 PM
User Rank Platinum
Re: Spying Not So Smart on TVs
@vnewman - I went to see if there had been updates on the LeEco/Vizio deal, since some time has passed since your post. I was unable to find recent updates - but what I did find was interesting. One newsource stated in December the deal was all but done. But then on February 7th, a different news source stated that despite this little hiccup with Vizio, the deal was still set to proceed. Which makes me wonder why the source in December called it good, when two months later there was still possible speculation it might not happen. And now, there are no recent updates to say one way or the other.
dlr5288
2/28/2017 3:59:01 PM
User Rank Platinum
Re: Spying Not So Smart on TVs
Very interesting! I did not know that. It'll definitely be cool to see how exactly this plays out and if the deal will actually go through..
elizabethv
2/10/2017 8:26:42 AM
User Rank Platinum
Re: Spying Not So Smart on TVs
@vnewman - The crazy thing is that they didn't have someone to stop them from moving forward without making the user agree to the terms and conditions. It seems like it would be just as easy as everyone else makes it, don't let someone passed the screen where they have to agree, until they agree. I thought it was common sense that a company needed to get a users permission for that kind of thing. It makes me wonder if they worried someone would read the conditions, then put it in a review and it would cost them sales. Though in the long run, I think this will hurt their sales far more than any user agreement would have.
elizabethv
2/10/2017 8:23:40 AM
User Rank Platinum
Re: Spying Not So Smart on TVs
@srufuolo1 - Oh they know what you're looking at when you're not on Facebook. And they definitely carry it over to your Facebook to remind you of it. And you did agree to it, you probably just didn't notice, because it was a required part of downloading the app/signing on to Facebook as a user. It's in the small print. We have all signed our lives away to the technology gods.....
srufolo1
2/10/2017 1:21:20 PM
User Rank Platinum
Re: Spying Not So Smart on TVs
@elizabethtv If it's in small print, a lot of people probably don't notice. I don't think we really know to what extend our data is collected, whether we sign or not. Do we really know the implications? We are so vulnerable and leave ourselves open to hacking I think.
elizabethv
2/27/2017 7:03:55 PM
User Rank Platinum
Re: Spying Not So Smart on TVs
@srufolo1 - No doubt most people don't read the fine print. That's why it's as successful as it is. And if people were out there really reading what all we've agreed to, I'm sure most would never agree. But then you get into, even if you can read it, given that it is typically in legal-ese the number of people that can even understand what they're reading is probably dwindling by the day. I'm amazed by the lack of reading comprehension people seem to hold anymore. I think a fair number of people do actually read, I wonder about the number of people that truly understand what they are reading. But then all you have to do is spend some time reading comments on a news site for a few minutes and you'll see the number of people who don't understand what they read at all.
srufolo1
2/28/2017 6:20:24 PM
User Rank Platinum
Re: Spying Not So Smart on TVs
@elizabethv When I use public Wi-Fi like at a Starbucks or Dunkin' Donuts, even the public library, I never actually read what I am supposed to be agreeing to. I just click the "I Agree" button so that I can get onto the Internet as fast as possible. As far as people reading and their comprehension of what they have read, I believe everyone comprehends differently. Sometimes people read more into what is written than what is actually there.
dmendyk
2/8/2017 9:37:34 AM
User Rank Platinum
Re: Spying Not So Smart on TVs
There was an epic fairy tale produced by HBO about North Jersey not too long ago. It was called The Sopranos.
srufolo1
2/8/2017 2:09:13 PM
User Rank Platinum
Re: Spying Not So Smart on TVs
@dmendyk True, and it pissed my sister off because she lives in the "nice part of town" and it gives NJ a bad image. That and that other show, what was that called, "Jersey Shore," because she also has a beachhouse in the area where they filmed that garbage, and she said, "Why can't they ever show the genteel side of life" on "Reality" shows? I said because that wouldn't sell!
afwriter
2/8/2017 12:10:06 AM
User Rank Platinum
Violation of Privacy
Unfortunately, these violations of privacy are only going to get worse before they get better. Consumer data is big business.
dcawrey
2/9/2017 3:20:43 PM
User Rank Platinum
Re: Violation of Privacy
This is a bit scary. Because companies like Netflix and Facebook collect so much data, it seems like others now think it's all okay to just take personal data.
I can say I'm not a fan. We haven't seen the implications of all our personal data being exposed to these companies.
But someday I think we will.
Regulations
It will be interesting to see the kinds of regulations put in place moving forward to protect people from companies trying to get information to sell for marketing purposes, while also working with companies to collect that information. There is a balance between an individual's right to privacy, and the needs of a company that will have to be met and it may not be as easy as it seems. Regulating telco in general probably always presents conflicts between the rights of businesses and the rights of people.
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